April 11, 2012

EASTON, Pa. - The Saint Joseph's men's tennis team concluded its regular season with a 7-0 rout of Lafayette on Tuesday afternoon at Lafayette's Sullivan Courts. Alex Veronis, Tommy Gates, Dan Barrus, Max Montague, and Peter Cognetti won their singles matches in straight sets.

Veronis rolled past Doug Gallagher at number-one singles, 6-2, 6-0, while Gates cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 result over Will Mercorella in the third flight.

Barrus and Montague were winners in the fourth and fifth flights, respectively; Barrus defeated James Oliver, 7-6, 6-1, and Montague earned a 6-3, 6-2 win over Scott Gelbman.

Cognetti rounded out the quintet with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Andrew Morris in the sixth flight.

Also winning for the Hawks was senior Jeff Kessler. He battled back from a set down to take his second-flight matchup over Brandon Goldstein, 5-7, 7-6, 13-11 in a supertiebreaker.

The Hawks secured the doubles point as well on Tuesday as Montague teamed with Erik Thunberg for a win in the first flight and Gates paired with Kristian Broaddus to win the second.

Saint Joseph's now heads to the Atlantic 10 Championship at the Lindner Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio. The seventh-seeded Hawks begin play on Friday morning against 10-seed Dayton; the winner of that match will take on second-seeded Xavier on Friday afternoon.

Saint Joseph's 7, Lafayette 0

Doubles
1. Max Montague / Erik Thunberg (SJU) def. Scott Gelbman / James Oliver (LC), 8-6
2. Kristian Broaddus / Tommy Gates (SJU) def. Doug Gallagher / Will Mercorella (LC), 8-5
3. Brandon Goldstein / Andrew Morris (LC) def. Peter Cognetti / Paranjay Malhotra (SJU), 8-4

Singles
1. Alex Veronis (SJU) def. Gallagher (LC), 6-2, 6-0
2. Jeff Kessler (SJU) def. Goldstein (LC), 5-7, 7-6 (6), 13-11 (STB)
3. Gates (SJU) def. Mercorella (LC), 6-2, 6-3
4. Dan Barrus (SJU) def. Oliver (LC), 7-6 (2), 6-1
5. Montague (SJU) def. Gelbman (LC), 6-3, 6-2
6. Cognetti (SJU) d. Morris (LC), 6-1, 6-1

Game Scores
Singles: Saint Joseph's 74, Lafayette 34
Doubles: Saint Joseph's 20, Lafayette 19
Total: Saint Joseph's 94, Lafayette 53